Bath Bombs

Making your own Bath Bombs

Making your own bath bombs is one of the easiest ways to take control, and de-stress, through regular bath soaks. When you add the power of natures essential oils you can really have an impact on the way you deal with everyday stress. Making your own bath bombs is simple and can be therapeutic too.

One of the most popular and simplest bath products, when making your own bath bombs, is to make, the standard, fizzing bath bombs which are a basic combination of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and citric acid, with some food color and essential oils for fragrance. There are hundreds of ways that you can make variations of these bath bombs, the simple rule of thumb, to keep in mind when experimenting, is that the closer you stay to a 1 to 1 ratio of the soda to citric the more fizz you will get. When adding additional materials you will want to subtract from, either, an equal mix of your baking soda and citric acid, or from the citric acid portion alone. Never substitute from the soda because it serves as the water softener and helps to quench the irritation potential of the citric acid. Making your own bath bombs is something that almost everyone new to the personal care market takes part in, in the beginning, but, there are many companies that have turned this into a great success with by offering only one product, the Bath Bomb, with varying fragrances, and combinations of botanicals. You never know where making your own bath bombs may take you.

The basis for the fizz is a chemical reaction due to the drastic ph difference between the acidic state of citric acid and the base, or alkaline, state of baking soda which products sodium citrate, during that reaction carbon dioxide is released, which is the fizzing activity of the bath bomb. Making your own bath bombs is just a matter of putting together your ingredients, in the ratios that you’d like, to create the level of fizz that you want.

Basic Instructions:
Combine your dry materials, using a spatula to break up any clumps. Separate a small amount in a corner of your container, or a separate bowl, and add your color and essential oil. Stir vigorously to distribute color and fragrance and then combine with the rest of your dry materials. Some find it helpful to use a separate container so that they can add the fragrant, colored salts in slowly and better control the scent and color level of their full batch.

Using a spray bottle, mist your mixture with distilled water until it just begins to hold together when pressed into a ball. The mixture should feel cool and slightly moist. Press the mixture into your molds, place a thin cutting board or sheet pan on top of the pressed molds and turn it upside down to release the bombs from the mold, tap the mold gently if the bomb does not fall freely. If it is very difficult to remove, your mixture is most likely too moist and you will need to correct it by adding in additional soda, citric acid or salt…as you prefer.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate – A powdered cleansing agent which you can add to make your bath bombs foam to create more of a bubble bath and further soften the water. This material is so gentle that at 3% there is no eye irritation and at 70% there is no skin irritation. Add up to 10% to your dry ingredients.

Dead Sea Salts – The mineral rich salts which you can add to your bath bombs to create a therapeutic soak for healthy skin or mineral therapy. Add up to 25% to your dry ingredients.

Carrier Oils – Vitamin rich emollients which you can add to your bath bombs to create a emollient, nourishing soak for dry or rough skin types. Add up to 5% to your ready, mixed ingredients being careful not to add to much which will make your bath bombs not hold together as well, creating a softer fragile bath bomb, or not at all. If this happens you will need to correct by adding more soda and citric or salts.

Additional Info: carrier oils are a pleasant addition; however, please keep the following tips in mind.

the oil will not mix with the water so it will float on the top

if any botanicals are also added to your bath bombs they will cling to the oil which will then cling to skin

you may wish to warn your customers that the tub may get slick

a great way to make powdered fizz bath is to use a small amount of Shea Oil, which is fractionated Shea Butter

Epson Salts – A glistening salt which you can add to your bath bombs to create a shimmery look which will also create more of a therapeutic soak for sore, stiff muscles. Add up to 25% to your dry ingredients.

Botanicals – Almost any dried plant material can be added to your bath bombs to create beautiful, more appealing bath bombs. Add up to 10% to your dry ingredients or add a few to your mold before packing in dry mix.

Additional Info: Most of the available botanicals will add fragrance to your bath bombs. So be sure to keep that in mind when making your selection.

Rosemary* – Invigorating and energizing

Lavender – Relaxing and calming

Peppermint – Stimulating and uplifting

Hibiscus* – relaxing and stabilizing

Green Tea* – Relaxing and antioxidant

Lemon Balm – Calming and relaxing

* These botanicasl will also release color as the bombs dissolve.

Essential Oils:
The aromatic chemicals extracted from botanicals called essential oils, can be added when you are making your own bath bombs, to create naturally scented, and therapeutic, bath soaks. Add to your mixed dry ingredients at about 6 – 8 drops per bath.

Additional Info: When adding essential oil based fragrance it is important to keep the activity of those oils in mind when making your selection because the activity relevant to each essential oil will effect the bath bombs and ultimate the bath soak.

Lavender – A fresh floral green fragrance which is known to have a relaxing effect. Suitable for any skin type, especially physical damaged skin. Blends well with oils but especially rosemary, ylang ylang, rose, citrus oils, wood oils and needle oils.

Rosemary – A bright green herbal fragrance which is known to have a invigorating effect. Suitable for most skin types, especially oily skin. Blends well with all needle, wood and herbal oils, but especially lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint and camphor.

Peppermint – A refreshing mint fragrance which is known to have a stimulating cooling effect while opening the sinuses. Suitable for most skin types, especially congested skin types. Blends well any oils, especially the herbal and needle oils.

Ravintsara – A bright camphor fragrance which is known to have a decongestants effect. Suitable for all but very dry skin types, especially congested skin types as well as for sore stiff muscles and joints. Blends well with floral, citrus and needle oils.

Lemon – A sharp, tangy, citrus fragrance which is known to have a uplifting effect. Suitable for oily, acne skin types, especially congested skin types. It is important to always have this, or any, citrus essential oil content be used at low concentrations and to be sure to include the healing, gentle essential oils, such as lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang…. to prevent irritation, which may be severe. Blends well with most oils, especially floral and camphor notes.

Grapefruit – A fresh sweet citrus fragrance which is known to have a uplifting effect. Suitable for most skin types, especially oily and congested skin types. One of the more gentle citrus oils which may be used to add a touch of sweet, or tartness to your blends. It is important to always have this, or any, citrus essential oil content be used at low concentrations and to be sure to include the healing, gentle essential oils, such as lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang…. to prevent irritation, which may be severe. Blends well with most oils, especially floral and camphor notes.

Ylang Ylang – An exotic, sweet, floral fragrance which is known to have has a calming, aphrodisiac effect. Suitable for all skin types. Blends well with most oils. especially citrus, floral and wood oils.

Petitgrain – A fresh, floral citrus fragrance which is known to have a deeply calming effect and an uplifting effect. Unlike most citrus notes this one comes from the leaf so it does not have the same irritation potential as with other citrus oils. This oil comes from the same tree which gives us Orange Oil from the fruit rind and Neroli Oil from the flower. Suitable for most skin types, especially congested. Blends well with most oils, especially citrus, floral and needle oils.

Vanilla – A exotic, deep sweet fragrance which is known to have a calming effect. This oil is actually a absolute, which is not a steam distilled oil but a solvent extracted oil which is utilized for plant material which does not release it’s fragrance very easily. As a result of the process necessary to extract the fragrance these oils are very expensive but very intense so a little goes a long way. Suitable for all skin types. Blends well with any oils, especially floral and citrus oils.

Chamomile Roman – A intensely deep, sweet, clean fragrance which, when used at low concentrations has a sweet apple note. Known to have a calming, sedative effect. Suitable for all skin types, especially damaged, sensitive skin types as it is one of the most gentle oils it is also known to be well suited to babies and children. Blends well with most oils, especially floral and citrus oils.

Some simple essential oils categories that you could implement when making your own bath bombs:

**when making your own bath bombs, or any other products, keep safety in mind … these oils are known to increase blood pressure and should be used with caution and not by any one with high blood pressure.

Incorporate all the dry ingredients. Mix together the baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, Epsom salts, and powdered milk. You can use a mixer or your hands, so long as all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

3

Add the wet ingredients. Slowly pour in the olive oil and cocoa butter, mixing gently with your hands. Use a spray bottle to add equal parts witch hazel and lukewarm water until the dough is solid enough to be compacted. Don’t add too much moisture though, as this will cause the dough to begin fizzing before it is even finished.

4

Add your color and scent. Use one or more essential oils of your choice to add to the mixture. Use as little or as much as you want, knowing that the scent will be a bit stronger when added to the warm bath water. You can additionally choose to add food coloring to the mix to stray away from a traditional white bath bomb.

5

Put the dough in molds. Pack the powdery dough down into dome or rounded molds to create a shape. Be sure to press firmly so that the dough sticks well and doesn’t form cracks when dried.

6

Let the bath bombs dry out. Place the dough in the molds in an area that is cool and dry for at least 24 hours. When the moisture has completely evaporated from the bath bombs and they are dry to the touch, they can be removed from the molds.

7

Store the bath bombs. Place all of the bath bombs in a sealable container away from moisture. When you’re ready to use them, simply place one in your bath and enjoy the milky fizz it creates![3]

Making Ultra Softening Bath Bombs

1

Gather your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need 8oz of cornstarch, 4oz of baking soda, 4oz of citric acid, 3oz of cocoa or shea butter, 3 tablespoons of almond oil, 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, essential oils for the scent, and food coloring for appearance.

2

Mix the dry ingredients. Stir together cornstarch, baking soda, and citric acid powder until well mixed. Use your hands or a beater to do this for larger batches.

3

Add in the liquid ingredients. Pour the cocoa or shea butter, almond oil, and coconut oil into the mixture. Combine all the ingredients until a dough-like substance has been formed.

4

Mix in colors and scents. To make your bath bombs extra luxurious, add in a tablespoon of your favorite essential oil. Feel free to mix multiple scents together to create a unique combination. Add several drops of food coloring to change the color of your bath bombs, and stir the mixture well.

5

Set the mixture in molds. Use domed molds or any mold that lacks corners, and press the bath bomb mixture into the mold. Pack the mixture firmly so that the finished bomb won’t have cracks or crumble apart.

6

Allow the bombs to dry. Set the mold with the bath bombs in a cool, dry area for at least 24 hours to ensure that all moisture has evaporated. If necessary, you can pop the bath bombs from the molds and place them in a dry towel to expedite the process.

7

Store the bath bombs. When the bombs feel dry to the touch, remove them from their molds or drying towel and place them in an airtight container. Keep them away from moisture until they are ready to use. Enjoy your new bath bombs in a relaxing bath![2]

Making Basic Bath Bombs

Start your mixture. In a large bowl, add your citric acid, baking soda, and cornstarch. Use your hands or a mixer to thoroughly incorporate all these dry ingredients together. After they have been well mixed, stir in your sugar.

3

Add a bit of water. Use a spray bottle to lightly dampen the mixture you’ve just created. Add only enough water so that the dough is compactable, but avoid adding so much that it becomes fizzy and must be started over.

4

Pour in your essential oils and food coloring. When your mixture can be easily molded in your hands, add essential oil and food coloring to your liking. Feel free to mix multiple scents and colors to create a combination unique to you.

5

Press the mixture into molds. Use dome molds or a mold with rounded edges and press the bath bomb dough into it. Use a lot of pressure to compact the mixture firmly into the molds, to prevent cracking.

6

Let the bombs dry. Leave the bath bombs in the molds for at least 24 hours. Place the molds in a cool, dry area away from moisture. If after 24 hours the bath bombs still feel slightly damp, remove them from the molds and allow them to air dry independently.

7

Store the bath fizzies. When the bath bombs no longer feel damp to the touch, remove them from their drying area and store them in an airtight container. Keep the bombs away from moisture to prevent premature fizzing, and enjoy them in your next bath![1]

Steps

1

Mix the dry ingredients together but leave out the tea leaves for now. Use a large ceramic mixing bowl. Combine well.

2

Pour the oil into the mixture and stir until it makes the entire mixture moist. Once mixed in, add the Use an essential oil such as rose or geranium for added benefits 1- 10 drops that can be dispersed in a full bath and stir through. If more oil is needed, judge as you mix; you will know if the mixture crumbles rather than sticks together.

3

Add the boiling water to the green tea leaves to revive them and have them stretch to full size (this helps the end look). Once they are moist, toss in with the bath bomb mixture.

4

Create the bath bomb shape. Do this by rolling in your hands until a small ball shape is formed. It is possible to purchase bath bomb molds as well.

5

Place each bath bomb onto a sheet of parchment (baking paper) or wax paper on a flat surface. Put this somewhere that you can leave undisturbed while the bath bombs dry out. Depending on the humidity, this can take up to a week. If you have very high humidity, consider hastening the drying process using a very low oven setting for a few hours.

6

Use or gift. If you intend using it, add one per bath, unless you have an enormous bath and then two might be best. For gifts, wrap each ball in clear cellophane and tie with raffia or a cute handmade bow and add a small card listing the ingredients and instructions for use. It can be neat to add a green tea bag for having after the bath too.

Tips

Water will also help the bath bomb stick together better if you notice it is crumbling during creation.

Warnings

Green tea is benign for most people, and so are the other ingredients. As always, however, wash hands after making any beauty products to avoid accidentally rubbing anything into your eyes and dirtying your clothing and know your own allergy issues.

Things You’ll Need

Ceramic mixing bowl

Baking paper/parchment paper or wax paper

Wrapping cellophane and ribbon or raffia; use leftover materials where possible